While the featured acts on this bill were Morbid Angel and
opening band Grip Inc., a group far more insidious reared their ugly
heads at the Opera House this memorable night. Over a dozen Nazi
skinheads decided to make a spectacle of themselves, in the process
making life miserable for many of the fans in attendance. After a
short, unimpressive set from a local Toronto act, Grip Inc. took the
stage and proceeded to impress the audience with their tight, quickly
paced show. The band played a number of songs from their debut
release, _The Power of Inner Strength_, and ex-Slayer skinsman Dave
Lombardo performed the mandatory drum solo. Many, including myself,
were disappointed by the lack of a Slayer track which has apparently
been a staple of their shows in the past. Nonetheless, the crowd was
privy to Gus Chambers' (vocals) taunting of the Nazi bullies who
seemed to derive great joy out of pushing people around in the pit,
and intimidating those who would dare mouth off to their activities.
At one point, Chambers lunged into the audience swinging his mic
stand hoping to make contact with a few of the thick skulls who sadly
were reigning the pit. The skinheads voiced their anger and hailed
Hitler, after being forced to scurry away from the mic stand's heavy
cast-iron base whizzing nearby.

Morbid Angel then took the stage and played a near-flawless set.
While they included material from each of their four studio releases,
tracks from their latest opus, _Domination_, were prominent.
Unfortunately, none of the band members made any attempt to show
displeasure at the obvious spectacle still occurring on the floor.
Dave Vincent (vocals, bass) made repeated attempts to bring the crowd
onto the floor, possibly not realizing why many were steering clear.
While rumours have been circulating that Vincent is involved with
white supremacist groups, these were flatly denied in an earlier
interview with Erik Rutan, Morbid Angel's recently hired axeman.

Despite low attendance, musically, this show was top notch. Too
bad certain groups have decided that their race's supremacy must be
exhibited through indiscriminate acts of hate and violence.